Kenyan dancer dies 2 months to the end of her jail term in Nigeria prison

A Kenyan female dancer, Susan Samira Odhiambo Johnson, who had been serving a sentence after being arrested in April 2015 at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in possession of narcotics, died last month inside Kirikiri Prison.

A memorial service was held for Me Johnson, on February 20, at the chapel in Kirikiri Female Prison in Lagos. The Kenyan, then 42, was caught with 5.345kg of drugs concealed in a school bags. The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said the four blue parcel of white powdery substance found in her possession tested positive for cocaine.

The deceased, who was born in Mombasa travelled with Kenyan International passport with number A1536020. She departed Bujumbura in Burundi en-route Nairobi to Lagos on a Kenyan Airways flight.

During routine screening, she was found with four parcels of cocaine concealed in school bags. Susan said she is a professional dancer in Kenya.

In her defence, the Kenyan argued that the bags were given to her by a friend to carry to Lagos and she had no idea what they contained.

“I was given the school bags in Bujumbura by a friend to deliver in Nigeria. When I got to the airport in Lagos, they searched my luggage and found the drugs,” she had said.

On December 7, 2015, she was sentenced at the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, and on the same day, began her incarceration at Kirikiri. Susan ailed in prison for a few months and died on February 16 on her way to the hospital. According to reports, Susan was two months away from completing her term.

Fellow inmates, observed by the female guards, came to the chapel to pay their respects. Some wept openly while others sat pensively through the liturgy. Her immediate family knew about the mass, having been informed of her death and of the chaplain’s plans by the Kenyan Embassy.

Mr Onyancha, the Kenyan Consular Officer attached to Lagos, and two Kenyans were also present. Presiding over the mass was Fr Cletus Udoh, the Parish Priest in charge of St Joseph’s Kirikiri, Lagos.

On his side was Fr Emmanuel Likoko, (pictured) a Kenyan priest in charge of St Mathews Catholic Church in Amukoko, Ifelodun, who had been of much support to Susan in her final months of her life.